Chapter 9

Lauren stayed at the hospital until dawn.

Liam appeared before her and delivered the news in a formal tone. "Mr. Shaw signed the consent form. The procedure is scheduled for an hour from now."

So, nothing she said to Jensen mattered.

Pity flickered in Liam’s eyes, then vanished.

This was between them.

She chose to endure him, and he chose to hurt her. It wasn't Liam’s place to interfere.

Doctors and nurses moved past the doorway. Even the white edges of their coats seemed painfully bright.

Lauren sat up in bed, so pale she looked ready to faint.

Then, to Liam’s surprise, she slowly smiled.

"Miss Sullivan..."

Unease stirred in him.

"I understand," Lauren said quietly. "You can go."

That was all? She wouldn't resist or plead for her child?

Liam found himself thinking that a woman who let others treat her this way had only herself to blame when they cast her aside.

Lauren carefully got out of bed, as though afraid of hurting the baby. She put on her shoes and walked to the window.

The sky outside was dark.

Strong winds whipped fallen leaves through the air.

A storm was coming.

Liam stood behind her. "Miss Sullivan... Mr. Shaw told me to stay until the procedure is over."

"So, you do remember I'm Ms. Sullivan."

Lauren turned to face him.

She looked frail, yet her gaze made him feel the force of her authority.

"What makes you think I'll do as you say?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Sullivan," Liam said. "Mr. Shaw said—"

"I don't want to hear his words through you."

"If you won't leave, I'll have someone escort you out."

Lauren hadn't asserted her position in a long time.

She tried so hard to be kind to everyone around Jensen, hoping that small gestures might slowly change how they saw her.

It made little difference; like Jensen, the people close to him believed from the start that she brought her suffering on herself.

Liam stared at her; only now did he realize just how little Jensen cared about her.

For years, Jensen’s staff learned to avoid calling her "Mrs. Shaw" in his presence. Eventually, only outsiders still used the title.

Now even "Miss Sullivan" sounded cold and absurd.

"Goodbye."

Lauren left the hospital room. A cool wind met her outside.

It lifted her long hair and seemed to carry away her last trace of hope.

Liam watched her go.

They all but forgot what Lauren once achieved in business. In her early twenties, she protected the vast estate her parents left her and established herself in Cloudhaven.

She was never merely an extension of Jensen.

She made herself small around him only because she loved him so deeply.

...

"Hello, Mr. James."

Lauren called her lawyer on the way home. "I'm sorry to trouble you again. This time, I need a divorce agreement."

"Yes, I've made up my mind. He can have everything in my name. That's all. Could you have it ready before six this evening?"

"All right. I'll wait for it."

Lauren returned to Highgrove, the two-story home she chose before the wedding to suit Jensen’s tastes.

Every detail suited Jensen’s preferences, from the surroundings to the sunlight and the rooms facing south.

She used to feel a quiet happiness whenever she was there.

Today, as she finally saw things clearly, that feeling disappeared.

She went inside and took her clothes from the closet one by one.

She packed the small things on the bedside table, each one carefully chosen.

She spent five years making the house feel warm.

It took only one day to undo that work.

Now she saw that she was the only one who ever considered it a home.

To Jensen, it was a place that trapped him.

The movers arrived soon and carried her belongings out box by box.

Before long, much of the large house stood empty.

Lauren wasn't particularly attached to those things.

But Jensen would throw them away once she left.

She might as well clear them out herself, so that even her departure wouldn't leave him anything to resent.

Just before five, Elliot James delivered the divorce agreement. "I drafted it according to your instructions. Please read it, and let me know if you'd like anything changed."

"Thank you," Lauren said calmly.

Elliot helped settle her parents’ estate years ago. He watched her grow up and then watched her throw herself into a marriage that kept her bound to Jensen.

Today, that would begin to change.

Before he left, Elliot couldn't help asking, "Are you truly willing to let it end like this?"

Lauren nodded but offered no explanation.

Elliot remembered how she looked when she asked him to draft her marriage agreement. She was so full of excitement that even her eyes shone.

Now there was no light in them.